With Uruguay seeing off Costa Rica, the field for World Cup 2010 has been completed.Africa -
Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South AfricaAsia - Australia, Japan, North Korea,
South KoreaEurope - Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, SwitzerlandNorth America - Honduras, Mexico, United
StatesOceania - New
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Jimmy Conrad got his 27th cap earlier today coming on for Jonathan Spector in the 70th minute of
the United States 3-1 loss to Denmark. The US led 1-0 at the half thanks to a Jeff Cunningham goal,
but struggled right out of the game in the second half, giving up 3 goals in the first 10 minutes
of the second half.
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It will be talked about for a long time: a World Cup berth "handed" to France. Thierry's Henry
helping hand assist (and a blown offside call) teed up William Gallas for the extra time clincher
to leave Ireland feeling backhanded...... but that was hardly the only drama on hand.Earlier,
Algeria, Greece and Slovenia procured invites to South Africa via upsets, with Portugal closing out
a tidy sweep
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Until espn2 picks up the game, I'm relying on a sometimes reliable Danish stream, so let's hope we
have no problems.As always, you can also follow along at the U.S. Soccer Matchtracker.The USMNT
line-up:Guzan; Hejduk, Spector, Bocanegra, Bornstein, Holden, Bradley, Clark, Feilhaber, Altidore,
CunninghamBack near kickoff.
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The USMNT will face Denmark today at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN Classic and ESPN2 (for an explanation of
this, click here). You can watch the match at either 810 Zone thanks to a watch party sponsored by
Budweiser. The USMNT Blog has revealed the 18-man roster for today, which includes both Jimmy
Conrad and former Wizards striker Eddie Johnson.
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As you might expect, we have plenty of things going on today. Two or three plenties worth,
actually...#1 - Let's begin with my double interview with Real Salt Lake strikers Robbie Findley
and Yura Movsisyan.Other RSL tidbits:- Rogue Cavaliers Brigade blog Denz's Sopabox has interview
videos- Have a ticket but no flight yet?
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I was watching Eastbound & Down again, and it hit me: we need a soccer equivalent, perhaps set in
England to raise the likelihood of someone being that big a star at one point. I'm gonna think
about this more, you watch TV...The ESPN Press Pass crew look ahead to a few of the remaining World
Cup qualification battles.
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Will that be our kit come the 2010 World Cup? Put me in the "hopes so" category! What are your
thoughts?
Speaking of the National Team. We will be hosting, along with Budweiser, watch parties for
tomorrow's friendly at Denmark at both area 810 Zone locations. The match kicks off at 1:30 p.
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A few NSC programming notes: there will be no Who likes goals? today, there will be a U.S. v
Denmark LIVE post on Wednesday and I will name my own MLS Best XI at S365 later in the week. And
now, your Monday morning croissants, juice and papers...#1 - The World Cup finals field for South
Africa is now at 26, with Cameroon capping their glorious table comeback with a 2-0 closing day win
(as
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It may have been a lighter weekend slate than usual, but we still woke up with a smoldering farm
shed on Sunday morning. This week's prize match saw Nigeria rally from behind to take the lead and
then require a late winner at Kenya.And all they got for their WCQ closing day troubles was a place
at World Cup 2010.
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Bob Bradley had said there'd likely be some changes to the lineup between the Slovakia and Denmark
games this week. Today we learned who was dropped and who was added to the roster ahead of the game
on Wednesday in Aarhus, Denmark. Dropped from the roster was Clint Dempsey and Steve Cherundolo so
that they could return to their clubs.
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The USMNT list for the Aarhus party:G: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton),
Troy Perkins (Vålerenga )D: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Edgar
Castillo (Tigres), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Frankie Hejduk
(Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)M: Michael Bradley
(Borussia
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Thanks to a first half spot kick from Napoli star Marek Hamšík, Slovakia edged out the USMNT 1-0
in Bratislava. The visitors were both shorthanded and short of ideas playing on a bumpy patch.Full
report link and highlight reel to come, with my U.S. Player Ratings set to appear at S365 either
tonight or early tomorrow.
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With five playoff first legs beginning, we now have 25 teams already qualified for next summer's
World Cup in South Africa.Early today, New Zealand finished of Bahrain in the Oceania/Asia playoff.
Rory Fallon became a household name in his land forever by nodding home the lone goal of the tie to
send the Kiwis back to World Cup for the first time since 1982.
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It's a busy weekend of futbol, as the MLS Conference Finals take place and the final places in the
2010 FIFA World Cup will begin to become more clear. CONCACAF 4th placers Costa Rica will host
Uruguay tomorrow night, and the first leg of the UEFA playoffs will take place. The U.S. National
Team, complete with our captain Jimmy Conrad, will play Slovakia tomorrow morning at 9 a.
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Please chime in on this, as I'm sure there will be much debate. Ken Gude of the Huffington Post
says that 2009 is the year that soccer arrived in America. Not because of Pele or Beckham, but
because of mainstream media (read ESPN) upping the ante on soccer coverage. He also cites the
continued success of the sport at the youth level and, consequently, improved play on the field by
our Men's National Team.
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ESPN has launched a new world soccer rating system, the Soccer Power Index (SPI for short). See
this as an RPI of sorts for the world of international football. They take some interesting things
into account, such as performance of an international player on the club level. If Clint Dempsey
scores a game-winner against Man United for Fulham, that helps the USA's SPI.
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I've been sitting on this story for a few days looking for confirmed news of it, but it appears
that Wizards forward, Kei Kamara has been called up by the Sierra Leone national team for their
upcoming friendly in Holland against Willem II of the Eredivisie. Kamara's Facebook status talks
about going to the game in Holland.
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Wizards defender and captain, Jimmy Conrad has been called up by the US national team for their
upcoming game against Slovakia. Conrad is one of 22 players that were called up by Bob Bradley for
the first of two friendlies next week in Europe. While the US will play Dennmark only a few days
after playing Slovakia, Bradley has said he's going to consider making changes to the roster before
the game in Denmark.
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USMNT boss Bob Bradley has selected 22 players to gather in Bratislava to prepare for Saturday's
friendly with fellow World Cup qualifier Slovakia.As you can see, I pegged much of the roster, with
a few notable exceptions (like Tim Howard and the Mexican-based guys). However, I also expect some
changes to the roster before the Denmark match that follows four days later.
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Conrad after the Costa Rica match. Photo courtesy of Andy Mead/Yellow Card Journalism.
Jimmy Conrad has been named to the US National Team for the third time this season, after first
joining the team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup then re-joining for the final two World Cup qualifiers
of the hexagonal.
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The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team continued their quest for the FIFA U-17 World Cup this
morning with a Round of 16 match-up against Italy. Italy took a lead in the 29th minute through AC
Milan's Giacomo Beretta. Follow the match at U.S. soccer's Twitter, ESPN360.com or the U.S. Soccer
match tracker.
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I think headaches should be outlawed on Wednesdays. I mean, you are as far removed from the most
recent weekend as you are from getting to the next one. That's enough misery. A headache on
Wednesday is overkill. I vote "no" on Wednesday headaches. What say you?#1 - Chivas USA netminding
monster Zach Thornton was tabbed as the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year for a second time today.
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The game is in the 20th minute and U.S. ace Jack McInerney has just seen a penalty kick saved by
the the Italy keeper.As always, you can follow along at the U.S. Matchtracker or watch on
ESPN360.Back with the major updates only, followed by the wrap...--29'Beretta puts Italy ahead
1-0.- Greg Seltzer
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Conrad celebrating after the USA clinched qualification in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Photo courtesy
of Andy Mead/Yellow Card Journalism.
Tonight, the final Jimmy Conrad Show of the 2009 season takes place live from Fox and Hound in
Overland Park from 8-9 p.m. CT. As an added incentive for fans who come out to the show, Conrad
will be raffling off an autographed U.
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How fun must it be to work on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? This show is like Seinfeld with
the evil turned up to 11. Sometimes, the best comedy of manners is the one without any (also see
Curb Your Enthusiasm)...#1 - A few local all-stars hook us up with the view heading into respective
first round deciders:- Bernardo Fallas on HOU/SEA- Nick Green on LA/CHV- Shawn Mitchell on
CLB/RSL#2 -
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Thanks to Jack McInerney's second goal of the tournament and a second consecutive shutout, the U.S.
Under-17 National Team has topped the UAE 1-0 to finish second in group play.Provided Italy gain at
least in draw in their ongoing match with Uruguay, they will be the Americans' World Cup round of
16 opponent.
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Now, I remember the thing I forgot to do yesterday!The USWNT defeated world #1 Germany away on
Thursday night, and I simply kept forgetting to post it up here. It won't happen again, I swear.-
Greg Seltzer
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Loose-lipped AC Milan exec Adriano Galliani has boasted that the club are on the verge of
officially announcing a completed deal to bring L.A. Galaxy star David Beckham back for another
January-to-June loan spell. He would then return (presumably for good) to MLS after appearing for
England at World Cup 2010.
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Right now, the USMNT U-17s are taking on Malawi in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria. The game is
being telecast live on ESPNU, ESPN360.com and Galavision. You can also follow along via the match
tracker at ussoccer.com, the U.S. Soccer Twitter feed or at Ives Galarcep's running commentary.
Let's see if the young USA team can bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Spain Monday.
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The Jimmy Conrad Show returns next week Tuesday for the 2009 recap edition. The show will take
place from 8-9 p.m. CT at Fox and Hound in Overland Park. As an added bonus for fans who attend,
Jimmy will be raffling off his game-worn, autographed jersey from the last round of U.S. World Cup
Qualifiers.
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No LIVE today for our U-17 World Cup kickoff, but I will come back at halftime with an update and a
few words, naturally followed by all the roundup regalia after the final whistle.Here is your USA
line-up, we start this one off at the top of the hour:Edwards; Kitchen, Herold, Watts, Polak; Gil,
Palodichuk, Duran, Shinsky; Jerome, McInerneyAs always, you can follow along at US Soccer's
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The U.S. U-17s kick off the FIFA U-17 World Cup today against Spain at 1 p.m. CT on ESPNU,
ESPN360.com and Galavision. Tune in to see how the next generation of U.S. players fares against
European powerhouse Spain.
US Soccer also announced today that they will take on European qualifiers Slovakia November 14 in
Bratislava.
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Brent Latham from ESPN Soccernet checks in with a story on the U.S. U-17 team for the upcoming FIFA
U-17 World Cup in Nigeria. A good portion of the team the U.S. is taking to Africa played here at
our Swope Park Training Center last week, falling to a team made mostly of KCW Reserves 3-0.
In full national team news, Jermaine Jones has been cleared by FIFA to play for the United States
after initially representing Germany in three friendlies.
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Congratulations to Ghana for getting to spot kicks after going down a man late in the first half
and rallying there to defeat Brazil for the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup title.I have to admit,
Black Satellites, you fooled me. I didn't think you could lock it down, I thought you'd resort to a
toe-to-toe slugfest.
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